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PERSONAL DEFENSE MARKET Predicted Personal-Defense Hits From SHOT Show By Massad Ayoob At the 2016 SHOT Show, manufacturers introduced a string of new personal-defense products. What products can retailers expect to sell well in 2016? Let’s take a look at some highlights. The most useful product I examined at the show (which I’d like to see in every gun shop in America) wasn’t a firearm, but an accessory: the Racking Assist, whose manufacturers are actively seeking dealers and want their product in gun shops, not big-box stores, which makes me like them by itself. How many sales have you lost because the customer was unable to rack the slide on the semi-automatic pistol they otherwise wanted to buy? In this column in the past we’ve shown techniques for your staff to show such customers to make it easier, but severe arthritis and some other disabilities can make even those impossible. The Racking Assist works on most auto pistols of conventional “barrel enclosed by slide” design, calibers .380 and up, in its Model #1. They offer a Model #2 for bullbarrel 1911s and such. The simple device can be mounted permanently as a bracket, or used free standing on a hard, flat surface (preferably not the glass top of a showcase). The muzzle is placed on the tube, the shooter — using body weight if necessary — pushes down on The Racking Assist’s patent pending design is unique in that it possesses a center guide post to maintain pistol alignment, which allows for one-handed racking. It’s currently available in two models to fit most semi-auto pistols. the grip frame and quickly brings the pistol back up, and voila, the chamber is loaded. (Or cleared, as the case may be.) MSRP is $24.95, with the makers requesting they’re not to be sold for less than $19.95. Dealer cost is $13.35 each for 40 units and $14.45 apiece for 20. If you think about it, $25 for something to make the difference whether or not the gun the customer wants works for them, sounds like a great value to me. They come in Ziploc bags instead of blister packs so the customer can try them out right there in your shop. And, they label you the one who “solved my problem no one else could solve,” which is always a powerful force for continuing patronage. For more information, visit www.rackingassist.com. Stand-Out Firearms In alphabetical order, the new firearms that showed me the most promise for potential sales were: Colt’s new economy-priced MSR is called the Expanse M4. In a brand seen by many as the gold standard in this area, this stripped down MSR still has all it really needs, and is priced to compete with Del-Ton and other entry-level carbines in its class. A champagne brand at beer price? How could it not sell? Visit www.colt.com. GLOCK products have been selling so well the company doesn’t need radical new products. This year’s news was the MOS (Modular Optic System) series expanding to service/carry-size 9mm GLOCKs — Gen4 G17s and G19s. They’re cut for red-dot reflex sights from the new generation of such, compact enough for concealed carry with a carefully selected holster. Your customers have been reading about them in gun magazines and online, and with GLOCK now in the market groove — which began thanks to S&W and their C.O.R.E. pistols — are sure to draw interest. Even Springfield Armory’s new M1A SOCOM 16 CQB is a modernized descendant of the M14 and M1A and is built for “Close Quarters Battle.” It’s nearly 10 inches shorter than the M1A standard model and is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO. 30 APRIL 2016 more than America’s population in general, gun hobbyists tend to be a “graying” group, and for older shooters eyesight often goes first. In bullseye competition and IPSC shooting, red-dot optics have extended the “competitive life” of aging shooters, and it’s reasonable to expect this option will appeal to aging homedefense/concealed carry buyers as well. Visit us.glock.com. Gary Ramey, Honor Defense LLC designer and president, now offers the Honor Guard pistol. Designed to compete with such proven polymer-frame, striker-fired subcompact 9mms as the million-selling S&W SHIELD, the Springfield XD-S, and the GLOCK 43, your customers are going to be asking about this 8+1 shot subcompact. Look for a test drive in FMG’s companion magazine American Handgunner and in the meantime, check out the Honor Guard at www.honordefense.com. The K6s, Kimber’s new small-framed “hammerless” six-shot .357 Magnum revolver in the 23-oz. weight range, may have gotten more buzz than anything else at the show. This means it’s already all over the Internet, and by the time you read this your customers will likely be asking to see it. MSRP is more in the range of a S&W Performance Center gun than ordinary Smiths or Rugers, but the DAO trigger pull (done with input from revolver authority Grant Cunningham) is very sweet. Kimber also has a neat little Micro 9 1911, apparently designed to compete against the hugely popular SIG P938. Look for tests of both in SI’s sister magazine, GUNS Magazine and visit www.kimberamerica.com. SIG SAUER’s big pre-SHOT intro was the Legion iteration of their familiar P-series of double-action autos — prestige guns Subscribe to SI DIGITAL www.shootingindustry.com